Day 6, March 21, 2016

This was our last full day in Rotorua. Rhys needed some down time so we stayed local and got a late start. Our plan was to head into town, check out the local museum and walk around a bit, then hit Nando's for lunch. Then we'd go back to the cottage to rest for a couple of hours before going to the Maori feast/ceremony we'd booked.

The Rotorua Museum as seen through yet another hot springs.

We arrived in town, found parking a couple of blocks from the museum and walked over. There is a large park in front of the museum. There is a lawn bowling club and a croquet club in residence. There are also the ever present hot springs.

The museum. It was originally a spa.

There were exhibits on the history of the spa as well as Maori history and local artists. We were not allowed to take any pictures in the Maori section. There was also a cat walk on the roof with great all round views.

We saw this from the catwalk on the roof.

A rose garden. We sat and smelled the roses while the boys played.

Part of the gardens in the park.

The entrance to the park.

We walked through town to Nando's. This is one of our favorite chicken places and we don't have them back home. It was well worth the walk.

Rhys liked the mild.

On the way back to the cottage we passed the city part which had more hot springs. We thought we saw a pool that the boys could put their feet in. Sadly we were wrong and the disappointment pushed Rhys over the edge.

This was a large lake.

We rested. Tracy and I took naps while the boys played. At 1630 we were over at Te Puia.

We started out with the tour. They gave us a mixture of cultural and natural history.

Food storage.

Weavings from flax at the weaving school.

Carvings from the wood carving school.

We got to go through the Kiwi house. The house is kept dark during the day and light at night. Rhys and I were able to see it but Tracy and Owyn missed it. We then waited for the geyser to go off but didn't get to see it before we had to head up for the ceremony and dinner.

There was a welcoming ceremony, dancing, singing. They gave us lessons in dancing for the ladies and the haka for the men. Following the ceremony/dancing we all went in and had our dinner. The boys tried a lot of different thing. 

We had a fantastic time. This was well worth the money and time.